Hey, Chad Johnson, Bill Belichick can talk trash, too. New England's normally dour coach stepped out of character Thursday to playfully jab at Johnson, a day after the Bengals wide receiver vowed to wreak havoc on the Patriots' secondary. Johnson specifically pleaded with "Mr. Belichick" to let cornerback Asante Samuel, whom Johnson described as a good friend, cover him one-on-one. "I won't score," Johnson promised. "I'll stop at the one and go out of bounds or something." "Tell him we'd cover him one-on-one all the time, but he pushes off more than any receiver in the league," Belichick said with a grin. "He must be paying off the officials not to call it, so we're going to have to double-cover him some. ... Not that he can get open."

During a Wednesday conference call with members of the Boston media, Chad Johnson asked them to relay a few messages to the Patriots' defense. ?You tell 37 (Rodney Harrison) that I?m going to knock his helmet off,? Johnson said. ?You tell Asante (Samuel) to make sure he has help for all four quarters or his 22 is going to be a 55. Isn?t that what it looks like upside down? ?Wait a minute, I?m not finished,? he said. ?You tell Junior (Seau) that when I?m done with him . . . never mind, I?m not going to pick on Junior. That?s not a good one. I could get hurt there.?

Odell Thurman, linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals, was arrested early Monday on a drunken driving charge. Thurman, already serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, registered 0.18 percent on a blood-alcohol test -- more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent, police said.

The Bengals placed David Pollack, their No. 1 draft choice from a year ago, on injured reserve Monday with a neck injury suffered in Sunday's 34-17 win over Cleveland at Paul Brown Stadium. Head coach Marvin Lewis denied a report that Pollack suffered any kind of fracture. He will miss the remainder of the season, but is expected to resume his playing career at some point.

The NFL absolved Cincinnati defensive end James Geathers on Wednesday for his hit on Kansas City quarterback Trent Green, emphasizing quarterbacks are responsible for avoiding hits by sliding. Green sustained a serious concussion last Sunday after a hit by Geathers and will miss at least two or three games. "The injury ... was unfortunate and has drawn much commentary, but it is not a foul," Ray Anderson, the NFL's senior vice president, said in a statement.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry avoided jail time by pleading guilty Tuesday to a concealed weapon charge. In exchange for the plea, Henry will be on probation for two years, serve 100 hours of community service, attend a firearms safety class and forfeit the 9 mm gun he pulled during a skirmish in downtown Orlando.

Carson Palmer took all 54 of Cincinnati's offensive snaps, 10 of them in a driving rain on a natural grass field early in the third quarter. And after the Bengals' 23-10 victory against the Chiefs, Palmer declared his knee fit. "It feels great," he said. "Everything feels great."

Trent Green was taken from the field on a stretcher after a brutal hit by Cincinnati's Robert Geathers, and while the Chiefs said their quarterback sustained "pretty severe head trauma," he was awake and moving shortly after Sunday's game. "Actually, when he did wake up, he remembered every play except the one that knocked him out," Kansas City general manager Carl Peterson said. "So we're being very optimistic and hopeful." Peterson said Green was taken to a hospital where preliminary X-rays of his neck and head were negative.

The sore right heel that kept T.J. Houshmandzadeh out of practice all week might sideline the wide receiver for Sunday's opener at Kansas City, and could force the Bengals' staff to alter their personnel packages. Houshmandzadeh, coming off a 2005 season in which he notched a career-best 76 catches and continued to be an effective complement to fellow wide receiver Chad Johnson, is officially listed as "questionable" for the game. If he doesn't play, Houshmandzadeh will be replaced in the starting lineup by Chris Henry.

Chad Johnson, the master of the touchdown dance and the locker room list, is branching out into the field of marketing. The Pro Bowl receiver changed his hairstyle this season -- instead of the shaved head, he's got a blond-dyed Mohawk -- and is helping the Bengals sell his new look at their gift shop. For $30, fans can buy a rubber scalp with a blond Mohawk to slip on the tops of their heads, a sign of unity with the most colorful Bengal. The "Chad Mohawk Head" will be available at the team's gift shop before the home opener against Cleveland on Sept. 17.